The Punishment of Betrayal
by RedHood97
Summary: Batman betrayed someone a long time ago. Now, the entire League must pay the price. Disclaimer: I own nothing, it is the property of DC Comics.
1. Chapter 1

"Greetings, Detective. It seems that you and your… friends have been caught." Batman glared at the figure in front of him. The rest of the founders were chained next to him, and not just any chains. They were laced with enough blue Kryptonite to suppress Superman's strength as well as being painted yellow to prevent Green Lantern's ring working on it. They were two strong for Wonder Woman to break, too thick for the Flash to vibrate through and there were fire pits nearby that were affecting J'onn's Martian abilities. "Batman, who is this guy?" Flash asked as he struggled. "Detective, I am insulted that you have not told your friends about me. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Ra's Al Ghul. I am the Head of the Demon and Leader of the Society of Shadows." Flash stared back before saying, "Oh, crap." Ra's smiled before saying, "How eloquently put, my young friend. Now, on to my plan. You are a hindrance to it that must be removed. But before I remove you, Detective, this is your last chance. Do you accept my offer?" The League turned to look at Batman confused, Batman just stared back at Ra's before replying, "Go to Hell, Ra's." Ra's smiled sadly before turning on his heel, green cloak billowing behind him.

"Bats, how do you know that guy?" Flash asked as soon as Ra's left. Batman sighed and leaned his back against the wall behind him. "It's a long story." Superman smiled grimly, "We're not going anywhere in a hurry." Batman sighed again before saying, "When I first met him, he told me his name was Henri Ducard. I was a young man at the time, about 23. He found me in the lowest place I have ever been and offered to train me. He told me of a place in the highest mountains of Tibet. A place where warriors trained to fight evil. He told me of the man in charge, a man called Ra's Al Ghul. He said he used fear to fight his enemies, trickery to defeat them. I remember one of the first things he taught me, 'theatricality and deception are powerful agents'. He may be a criminal, but he created me. He raised me from the depths in which I had immersed myself. Without him, Batman would not exist. I trained there for two years, mastering combat, philosophy and the use of certain explosive powders. I was taught to become more than a man, to become a legend, a myth. A dark story told in hushed whispers. But then came the final day of my training. The day that I would be tested to prove my 'worth'." Batman spat the word 'worth' and continued, "They had caught a man who had killed another in one of the local villages. They told me to take his life and I would finally be a member of the Society. I refused, and they turned on me. I fought them, so many of them. It ended with their temple burning with Ra's trapped inside. I saved Ducard. It was only about a year later that I discovered that Ra's and Ducard were the same man. He tried to invade Gotham by poisoning the water supply with an early strain of Scarecrow's Fear Toxin. He very nearly succeeded. I confronted him at a party that he attended, we fought. He won. He escaped, and planned to use a different form of the toxin, an airborne strain. He was on a train. We fought again, he lost. I escaped the train before it crashed. He didn't. I watched him die. At least, I thought I did."

For a long time nobody spoke, then the Flash said, "Bats? What's he going to do to us?" Batman sighed before saying, "To me? I will be forced to accept the Punishment of Betrayal. For you? He'll just kill you." Superman asked quietly, "What's the Punishment of Betrayal?" Batman was quiet for a moment before saying, "First, they will attack my mind. Submitting me to varying degrees of psychological torment. They will probably use a variant of Scarecrow's Fear Toxin. Then, they will submit me to torture. Probably through the use of branding irons. After that, I will be offered the choice of accepting Seppuku, the Warrior's Suicide. It involves self-disembowelment. If I do not accept then I will be forced to die by Lingchi, more commonly known as death by a thousand cuts. Then, when that is done, I will be left to bleed to death slowly and agonizingly." No one quite knew how to respond to what Batman had just said, or the way he had described it, in a calm and collected manner, even though he had been graphically describing his own death. Flash quickly squeaked out, "And how will we be killed?" Batman looked at him and said quietly, "You will die by the sword."

"Batman? Have you figured a way out yet?" Superman said hopefully. "No. There is no way out." Superman looked at him alarmed. Batman had never admitted defeat, and here he was ready to accept death. "There must be a way out." "There isn't." Wonder Woman spoke up and said, "Is there no way for you to escape?" "No. Ra's knows every trick I do and more besides. If what he says is true, then he has 600 years to perfect his skills. These chains are specifically designed to hold all of us, and not just the chains either, the location. We are sealed far away from the Sun, surrounded by fire pits as well as the colour yellow." Batman suddenly stopped talking and listened quietly as someone approached. A slim female figure stepped out of the shadows and Batman tensed in fear. "Ah, Batman. It has been a long time." The other members of the Justice League looked up at the woman in puzzlement. "Not long enough, Shiva." Lady Shiva smiled and suddenly struck forward, a knife appearing in her hand, which buried itself in Batman's left shoulder. "You should have more respect for your betters, Dark Knight. I have been tasked with your punishment. I believe you know what that is?" Batman nodded silently and began to rise to his feet. Shiva smiled and said, "I have decided that your punishment shall take place here." Batman tensed before saying, "What?" "I believe you will gain more turmoil from having your friend witness your death. Plus, it will work towards demoralizing them. Now, rise, Dark Knight."


	2. Chapter 2

"How does it feel, Dark Knight, knowing that you have finally lost?" Shiva asked casually as she poked irons into one of the fire pits. Batman was bound to a metal table and couldn't move. The rest of the League was bound to the wall with thick chains. Batman didn't answer but upped the intensity of his glare. When the irons were hot enough she pulled one out, smiled, and rammed it into Batman's right shoulder. His body twitched and writhed because of the pain but he didn't make a sound, he just continued to glare at her. The rest of the League winced in sympathy and continued to watch as she slowly tortured Batman. She turned back to the fire and pulled out a long chain with a leather wrapped handle. She flicked it casually and then struck the Dark Knight's stomach with it, burning straight through his Kevlar to the flesh beneath. He hissed in pain and the League winced and flinched as they saw the burnt remnants of his stomach. "This could all end. All you have to do is accept the offer extended to you. Forsake the League and rejoin the Society. Take your rightful place as the right hand of Ra's Al Ghul. It is a simple matter." Batman glanced at the League, catching Diana's eye before turning back to Shiva and saying coldly, "No." He then laid his head back and closed his eyes, as if he was preparing to go to sleep. This seemed to enrage Shiva as she drew back the chain and cracked it again and again against Batman's body.

2 hours had passed since the torture had begun. The League had tried to block it out for the sake of their sanities but their was only so much that they could do. Shiva had left about five minutes ago. Batman still lay on the table, barely conscious. Shiva had varied her torture behind simple brandings and burns. She had used long knives, heated in the fires, to carve the flesh of his body into cruel and grotesque shapes. She had administered deadly poisons to him and only provided the antidotes at the last possible minute. She had even subjected him to improved strains of Joker Venom and Fear Toxin to try to crack his mind. Luckily he was mostly vaccinated against those and was able to fight his way through the hallucinations that remained.

Finally Superman said to Batman, "Batman! Are you alright?" A cracked and broken laugh came from Batman, "Am I alright? Look at me, use your eyes. I'm lucky that I'm not dead. Anyway, I think I have found a way for you to get out." Superman looked up and said, "How? You said it was impossible." Batman replied, obviously in pain, "Emergency Teleporter Protocol 001, it extracts the subject from their current position and returns them to the Watchtower. It will be painful though and will use a lot of power. But there's a catch. It doesn't work on the person who activates it, only those that they specify. I can activate it, but I can't go with you. I doubt that I would survive the trip anyway. Tearing apart my molecules would kill me instantly." Diana quickly replied, "Then don't do it. We leave together or not at all!"

Diana could hear a slight smile in his as Batman said, "Doesn't work like that, Princess, you can't stop me from activating it. You can't reverse once I have activated it and you don't know where we are so you can't come back and attempt a failed rescue mission. You can't stop me. Gentlemen, Lady. It's been an honor. He then clicked a button on the side of his belt that could activate his Comm. Link. "Watchtower, Command Sequence 015, Emergency Protocol 001 on Units 01, 03, 04, 05, and 06 override code Batman-9-1-9-3-9, activate." As soon as he finished speaking a harsh blue light surrounded each member of the League (minus Batman) and within moments they were on the Watchtower Teleporter Pads, hunched over in pain.

Mr. Terrific hurried over and asked, "What happened to you guys? Where's Batman? And how the hell did you activate the Teleporter without my passcode?" Superman looked up and said grimly, "It's a long story."

Back in the darkness of Ra's' inner sanctum Batman said, "I know you're there, Ra's. You have been for the entire time Shiva was torturing you." Ra's stepped out of a shadow and smiled, "I am impressed, Detective, none of your skills have wavered. Have you reconsidered my generous offer?" Batman looked up and said, "On two conditions. One, the League and my family are left alone. This is strictly between you and me. No repercussions for anyone connected to me. And two, I don't have to kill anyone. I will be your enforcer, your successor. Whatever you want to call it. But I will not kill. You've already got Shiva for that." Ra's smiled as he listened to Batman negotiate. "Fair enough. I will leave your family and the League alone, as long as they do not directly intervene in my plans. You have my word of honor. You know that you trust me to keep it. I will also allow you to maintain your vow not to take a life, however you must swear not to prevent another of my organization from killing. Do we have an accord?" Batman closed his for a moment before saying, "Deal."


End file.
